If this is the first edition of the MarineParents.com
Newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are
a returning reader we are glad you have joined us.
We thank you for your support and hope that we can
support you. It's a busy time in the lives of our
Marines and their families with another round of
homecomings and new deployments.

DEPLOYMENT PREPARATION: Some families
are saying farewell to their Marine as they leave for
another tour of duty in Iraq, or on another float or
other deployment location. We'll give you some tips
for travel planning to a military installation as well as
important information for you, the families at home,
to read and learn during deployment.

HOMECOMING PREPARATION: Other families
are planning homecoming travel and need to know
how to find out what dates their Marine will be
returning stateside and how to plan travel around
uncertain dates. We'll give you some tips for travel
planning to a military installation as well as
information on how to find information on
homecoming dates.

New to Deployment?

What you must know and a few tips

With several units having recently deployed and still
yet to deploy, we wanted to share with you a
section of the web site that we call "What you must
know about Deployment". This section includes
definitions of terminology used when referring to
deployments, types of deployments, preparing for
deployment, and what to expect upon arrival "In
Country".

If your Marine has recently deployed or will soon
deploy, this section of the web site is a must read,
particularly the section "preparing for deployment"
that includes how to get an overseas mailing
address, and most importantly, learning about the
different methods of communication that your Marine
may have available to him or her.

The introduction alone is powerful and moving; the
writings within stir your deepest emotions and often
tickle your senses with the raw humor shared
amongst the boots on the ground. The stories are
poignant and powerful. --Tracy Della Vecchia

Edited by Andrew Carroll (on the New York Times
Best Selling list for 2001 War Letters),
Operation Homecoming shares
the candid writings from American military personnel
and their loved ones about what they saw, heard,
and felt while in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as on
the home front. Taken together, these almost one
hundred never-before-published eyewitness
accounts, private journals, short stories, letters, and
other personal writings become a dramatic narrative
that shows the human side of warfare.

Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D., author of the acclaimed
PTSD Book "Downrange to Iraq and Back" will
participate in a monthly online discussion group
sponsored by MarineParents.com, Inc.

Discussions are held from 8:15-10:00 p.m. central
time. Dr. Cantrell's next discussion will be held Friday,
February 16, 2007. We will arrange for one day each
month during the remainder of 2007 as well. Please
check back for updates to the scheduled discussion
groups.

The topic of discussion for this online group is
post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. Military
personnel and spouses or family members who would
like to learn more about PTSD are invited to attend.
There is no fee to attend the online discussion group.

Recruit training takes place at both Parris Island,
South Carolina and San Diego, California. Graduation
information for both of these locations can be found
in the bootcamp section of our web site.

Once in the bootcamp section of the web site, use
the navigation tools to select different areas of
interest, including graduation information, a training
matrix, Parris Island and San Diego information, and a
links page with information to help guide you through
the 13 weeks of your recruit's training.

The web site includes a message board community
called "Recruit Parents" to share with other families
whose recruits are in the same battalion, some of the
emotions and questions of bootcamp and the Marine
Corps lifestyle. It's a great place to Connect &
Share™ with one another.

Retrograde is the return of deployed Marines, better
known as homecoming for our Marine parents,
spouses, family and friends. Retrograde includes
return from ships (a/k/a floats) as well as in-country
deployments (overseas stations).

The retrograde section of our web site is actually
several links to other areas of the web site, and a
general overview of retrograde procedures. We've
also got links to helpful information on what to
expect from your Marine upon homecoming and a
homecoming workbook to help you prepare.

Whether you're traveling to the Marine Corps base in
Twentynine Palms, Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton,
or Hawaii, we've got travel information to share with
you. This section of our web site will help families
that have to travel from out of town to attend
homecomings or sendoffs. We include hotels,
shuttles, airport information, and even a checklist to
make sure you've got what's required to get onto the
Marine Corps Base.

How do you find out when your Marine will return
stateside from combat deployment? Your best source
of information is the Family Readiness Officer, or FRO.
To find contact information for the FRO, you will
need to know what battalion or unit your Marine is
with. You can generally figure that out by the
address you are sending both US Mail and/or Moto
Mail to. Then use the Unit Information Search
Feature on MarineParents.com to locate the unit and
FRO information.

The registrations are flowing in for the 2nd Annual
Marine Parents National Conference, “Honoring Our
Marines Today and Tomorrow”. The conference
will be held at the beautiful Adam's Mark Hotel at the
foot of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri the
weekend of April 20-22, 2007.

Our speakers include Lt. General George R. Christmas
who is currently the President of the Marine Corps
Heritage Foundation, as well as Mike Colson, a
national speaker and former Navy Chaplain. Colonel
Bryan P. McCoy will join us again this year as a
speaker as well as a presenter on the Deployment
Discussion Panel breakout sessions held on Saturday.
Our lineup for the Author's Hall includes New York
Time's best seller Andrew Carroll with his new book
Grace Under Fire.

The breakout sessions on Saturday include
educational topics such as deployment information,
military benefits and veterans' benefits as well as
fun sessions like "Sampling an MRE" and
scrapbooking.

We now offer a full range of color shirts in our online
store, including red, military green, blue, and black.
We also offer long-sleeve Ts in black, blue, and a
women's T in brown. These beautiful colors create a
classic look with the Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and
Anchor (EGA) or the Marine Corps Devil Dog. Shirts
are also available for each Battalions' graduation
classes for both Parris Island and San Diego.

All proceeds from sale of items go to support the
MarineParents.com web site and projects.
MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity.

We have every Marine Corps design you can imagine
in coffee mugs. We've also got some Navy designs,
Veterans Designs and Patriotic designs. If you're a
mug collector and a fan of our US Marines and Navy,
you'll want to browse through our wide selection of
mugs.

These mugs are sure to be unique to even
the most avid collector. We have an entire series of
mugs with quotes from famous Marines and other
historical figures. Click here for Mugs With Quotes

Valuable Coupon!
FREE SHIPPING for orders of $50 or
more

Just use the following coupon code: VDAYSHIP
Once you've selected your items, you'll be prompted
for the code within our checkout process. Valid
through February 14, 2007.

We hope this week's edition of our email
newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If
there are topics you would like us to address, or if
you have other suggestions for the newsletter,
please contact us.

Top photo courtesy of the
USMC. Ar Rutbah, Iraq (Feb. 5, 2007) -- The
Marines and sailors of the 15th Marine Expeditionary
Unit (Special Operation Capable) had to wake-up
extra early to gather at the Camp Korean Village
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation center here to
watch Super Bowl XLI, played in Miami. The game
started at 2:30 A.M, Iraq time. The Indianappolis
Colts outlasted the Chicago Bears to win the league
title, their first championship since they won Super
Bowl V as the Baltimore Colts in 1970. Colts
quarterback Peyton Manning earned MVP honors for
his first Super Bowl victory. Photo by: Lance Cpl.
Timothy Parish, 15th MEU, 02/05/2007.

MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public
charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in
January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find
information and to Connect & Share™ with one
another during deployments. Our free online services
and connections have expanded to support and
educate Marine moms & dads, spouses, families and
friends and we're now offering the Annual National
Conference in St. Louis, 2007. We've helped over
30,000 Marine and recruit families during bootcamp,
training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped
thousands of care packages overseas to our Marines
in Iraq and Afghanistan. You've found a Place to
Connect & Share™.